Heavyweight world champion Wladimir Klitschko last night led the tributes to trainer Emanuel Steward, calling him "a legend".

Steward, who has died aged 68 after a battle with colon cancer, handled 43 world champions - more than any other trainer.

Among the famous names to work in Steward's Kronk Gym in Detroit were Thomas Hearns, Lennox Lewis and Klitschko.

Klitschko, who trained with Steward until his illness meant he finally had to give up the job he loved, said: "Boxing has suffered a tremendous loss.

"It is not often that a person in any line of work gets a chance to work with a legend, but I was privileged enough to work with one for almost a decade."

The Ukrainian vowed to win his upcoming world heavyweight title bout against Mariusz Wach "in honour of Emanuel". Former WBO cruiserweight champion Johnny Nelson added his own tribute, saying: "It's very sad. He was probably one of the last of the old school - an iconic trainer.

"His work ethic was unbelievable. If you were a fighter and you were fighting someone from the Kronk Gym then you knew you had a fight on your hands." As an amateur boxer, Steward won 94 of his 97 fights and a National Golden Gloves bantamweight title in 1963, before becoming a trainer.

In March 1980, Hilmer Kenty became Steward's first pro world champion when he won the WBA lightweight crown, also becoming the first world champion from Detroit since heavyweight great Joe Louis decades earlier. But he was perhaps most closely associated with Hearns, whom he first trained as an amateur at the fabled Kronk.

Under Steward, Hearns became the first boxer to win world titles in five weight divisions and engaged in classic fights with Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran and Marvin Hagler. "He brought the very, very best out of me," Hearns once said of Steward.

Steward linked up with Lewis following the British heavyweight's defeat by Oliver McCall in 1994 and the partnership endured until Lewis's retirement in 2004. Steward was immediately enlisted by Klitschko and, having lost his WBO belt to Corrie Sanders in 2003, the Ukrainian became world champion again in 2006.

Steward was born in West Virginia and moved to Detroit at the age of 12. In 1963, as an 18-year old, he won the national Golden Gloves tournament as a bantamweight. But rather than turn pro he went to work for the Detroit Edison Co and in 1971 accepted a part-time position as head coach of the boxing program at the Kronk Recreation Center. A dynasty was born.